Spring hinge



May 11 192.6..

W. J. KEENE SPRING HINGE Alilec Oct. 10, 1921 mlm h w S35 Mmm, J Ke Patented May 11, 1926.

UNITED stares .haremA oFFrc/E..

WILLIAM J'. KEENE, OF QHICAGO, LLINOXS,.ASSIGNOBJ T0 CHICAGO SPRIG :BUTT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLNOS, A CORPORATION."

srrtrNe HINGE.-

Appiieation mea october 1e21. sel-.iai rre. 506,733. j

My invention relates to double-acting spring-hinges oi the type wherein the 'same spring serves to oppose movement of the hinge in either direction from a predeter- 5 mined position.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide an improved doublecting spring hinge of the character above referred to; to house mechanism so that the oplo erating parts are enclosed and held against displacement; to yprovide an external connection ot the spring mechanism with the companion hinge member; to aiiord a more substantial bearing' at the pivotal connection of the two main hinge elements; to permit adjustment for optionally selecting the position at which'the gate or door is vto-be normally held 'by the hinge to improve 'the construction so that amore simple and dur- 2o wear and tear on the yparts materially lessened; to provide a detachable mounting for the completed hinge; and in general7 to improve the construction sov that the` hinge is more Ydesirable than devices of this character whichv have been available heretotore.y 1

On the drawings: v Fig. 1 is a'vertical sectional view et a hinge structure embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View onA the line'2-2 of Fig.` 1; l Fig, 3, a side View of the internal mecha-- nism of the hinge with the rib of the casing shown in section on the line-8 3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a fragment-ary view of a gate mounted f in position with my improved hinge and showing the companion hinge, which I employ in connectionr with my' double acting spring hinge;

Fig; 5, a view part-ly in horizontal section showing t-he manner o'l' temporarily mountand bracket structure, shown in Fig. 5.

f On the drawings, the' reference numerai 1 indicates a post to which a gate-2 is pivoted `whichareindicated asa wholeat 3 4 respectively, the latter comprising adoubjle acting] spring" hinge which maintains the able form of spring may be employed and ing; a screen or small door in a doorway,

FigV 6,1a face view of 'the detachable..

. bymeans ot' my improved hinge structures,v

screw 6 and there is also` an extension 7 extending laterally romthel casi-ng- 5 at the top under lthe'lower edge of the gate 2 and secured to the latter bythe screws 8. VThe casing 5 ispreferably" circular in horizontal lsection and has a circular flange 9 depending from the top wall and forming 'fa sea-t 10 for the upper `end of the stem 1.1, which extends centrally down through fthe .casing 5 and projects `from the lower end thereof. The base of the seat '10 is preferably formed with an 'annular ball race 12 for ball-bearingsl against which the upper end of fthe stem 11 engagesfor supporting the weight oi the gate Aand permitting 'the latter tolturn with ease. At one side of the casing 5 is an internal verticallyr extending ribI 14- and at the opposite side an enlargement. 15, each of whichhas a' threaded aperturey at the lower end to receive the screws" 16v whereby a bottomy plate 17 isA secured overthe lower open end of the casing 5 forenclosing and holding assembled, the mechanism of the spring hinge. rllhe plate 17 has a central opening 18 preferably reinforced by a depending flange extending around the opening to aii'ord a suitable bearing. for the lower end of the stem 11 and the projecting portion of this stem is squared, as indicated at 19 to lit in a square o'p"ening 20 ofthe bracket 21, which is formed' with a side flange 22 or otherwise constructed'so as to be secured to the post 1 or any other sup port to which the gate is desiredv to be attached. V

The stem 11, by reason of the engagement oi' the square lower endv with the `square aperture in the bracket 21 isheld again-st turning movement and-has 'within thev carsng 5 a pair of vabutment lugs 28 and. 24e at opposite sides and at diiierent? elevations, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. At the upper and lower ends respectively of the'stem'. 11, within ythe easing 5, are collars 25 and' 26 which loosely 'engage thestem each is providedjwth a segmental flange- 27` and' respectively, and the former terminating in a shoulder 29 adapted to engage against the abutment 23, and the latter terminating in a shoulder 30 adapted to engage against the abutment 24. A. coiled spring 31 extends between the collars and 26 and telescopes on the lower and upper extremities respectively of these collars against their annular flanges 34 and 35 respectively and the ends of this spring are bent inwardly, as shown at 32 and engaged in vertical grooves 33 of the segmental flanges 27 and 23 respectively so that the tension of the spring serves to hold the shoulders 29 and 30 against their stops or abutments 23 and 24. For con-l necting the spring to the casing 5, so that the operation of the gate is under the control of the spring, there is a lateral projection 36 on the flange 34 of the upper collar 25, which engages against one side of the rib 14 of the casing 5, and there is an oppositely facing projection 37 on the lower collar 26,

lwhich engages the opposite side of the rib 14, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, the circumferential spacing' of these projections being such that in the normal position of the gate, the projections fit up close to the sides of the rib 14. c

With this construction, assuming that the gate is swung in t-he direction of the arrow 38 in Fig. 2, the rib 14 will rotate in a clockwise direction, moving the projection 37 and the collar 26 with it and the shoulder 30` will be withdrawn from the stationary stop 24 on the stem 11. Inasmuch as the lower end of the spring 31 is connected to the collar 26 and the upper end of the spring is connected to the collar 25, which has the shoulder 29 engaged against the stop 23 of the stem 11, the collar 25 and upper end `of the spring will be held by the stop 23 against turning movement, with the result thatthe swinging of the gate in the direction of the arrow 38 puts the spring 31 under sufficient tension, so that when the gate is re leased it is returned by the spring to the normal position. Then on the other hand, the gate is swung in the direction indicated by the arrow 39 in Fig. 2, a reverse action of the springmechanism takes place-that is, the engagement of the casing rib 14 against the projection 36 causes the collar 25 to rotate aroundthe stem 11 thus withdrawing the shoulder 29 away from the stationary stop 23 and carrying the upper end of the spring 31 with it and atthistime the collar 26 and the lower end of the spring is held against turning movement bythe engagement of the shoulder against the stationary stop 24 thereby creating a tension of the spring, which serves to return the gate to the normal .position when released. From the foregoing it will be observed that there is what may be termed a neutral position r to which the gate is automatically returned by tension of the spring 31, regardless of which direction the gate may be swung, this position being determined by the location of the circumferential gap existing between the projections 36 and 37 when the shoulders 29 and 30 thereof are engaged against the stops 23 and 24 respectively.

lt will be observed that with my device, the spring is constructed in a simple form and subjected only to circumferential strains, thereby avoiding breakage, which frequently occurs in other types of double acting hinges of this character and moreover, the actuat ing mechanism is confined and held in assembled condition in a closed housing with the stem 11 securely held in upper and lower bearings and there is merely a squared end of the stem projecting from the housing, which serves to detachably mount the hinge on the bracket 21.

rlhe companion hinge structure 3, which I employ in connection with the spring structure 4, for pivotally mounting the gate 2,

may be of any desired type, a simple and cor.-

venient form being shown in Fig. 4. This structure comprises a plate 40, which is mortised into the upper edge of the gate 2 and has a socket 41 forming a bearing for a pin or stud 42 on the underside of the bracket arm 43. This bracket arm may be secured to the post in any convenient manner, as for example by the flange 44 which depends from the end of the arm 43 and is fastened against the side ofthe post 1.

It is frequently desirable as for example in hospitals to provide some of the doorways with a screen or small door so that the opening is only partially closed, and it is desirable that they may be detachably mounted in any of thev doorways and readily removed when they are no longer required. These doors are preferably spring controlled, so as to automatically close and to meet this demand I have provided means whereby a door of this character and controlled by my spring hinge, may be detachably mounted in a doorway. This means comprises upperI and lower plates 45, which are secured to the side of the door casing and provided with dovetailed seats 46. A bracket 47 is as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and described hereinbefore, and the other arm 49 may be provided with any suitable pivotal connection with the door 52 in axial alignment with the stem of the hinge member 51.

While VI have shown and described my in-k llO vention in a preferred form, I am aware that various Vchanges and modilications may be made without departing from the principles of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a spring hinge, a bracket adapted to be secured to a support, a casing adapted to be secured to a swinging element and hav ing a ball bearing at the top, a stem pivoted in the bearing in the casing and having its lower end seated in the bracket on the support and held against turning movement, diametrically opposite and oppositely facing abutments on the stem, the casing having an internal rib, collars loosely engaged on the upper and lower portions of the stem and each provided with a flange having a groove therein and terminating in oppositely facing shoulders adapted to engage the abutments, the collars each having a lateral projection facing in opposite directions to engage opposite sides of the rib, and a -coil spring eX- tending between the collars and having its ends bent inwardly to engage the grooves and hold the shoulders against said abutments, as and for the purposes described.

2. In a spring hinge, the combination with an upright support, a bracket on the support and having a squared socket, a swinging door, a casing'secured at the lower cor- `ner of the door and having a bearingl at the top, a stem pivoted in the bearing andhaving its lower end' squared and projecting from the casing to set in the socket, diametf the stem and each provided'with a segmental i? flange terminating in oppositely facing shoulders substantially one above the other and adapted to engage said abutment lugs, flanges on the collars each having a lateral projection facing in directions opposite to d that of adjacent shoulders toward each other to engage opposite sides of the rib, the seg mental flanges each having a vertical peripheral groove therein adjacent the shoulders and projections, and a coil spring eX- tending between and engaged with the collars and having its ends bent inwardly and engaged in the grooves to normally hold the shoulders against the abutments.

' WILLIAM J. KEENE.

Il (l 

